If you’re after a design-smart hotel in the heart of the action, and you don’t care if your room is small (well, really small) then a pod hotel may be for you.

Pod hotels aren’t just hotels, of course – they’re a lifestyle statement. They say: I know about clever modern design, I’m not really a tourist, I travel often and light, I can live like a local (New York? London? Wherever!), I need to be where it’s all happening and … err … I don’t want to pay too much.

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What a pod hotel room is, is a box with everything in it. What it’s not is spacious – you can pretty much pivot around and hang up your jacket, turn on the TV, plug in your iPhone, make a coffee and plump your pillows all without leaving the spot.

But while they’re compact, they’re also ingenious, fitting together like a bedroom/bathroom jigsaw. Reception is low-key, sometimes almost non-existent, cafes are casual but hip. Not all rooms have windows, so don’t necessarily expect a view. But with no curtains to draw – hey, there’s one less thing to do. And we do wish the big hotels would learn from this – WiFi is always included. Pod hotels have their priorities right!

Qbic Hotels, London and Amsterdam

Qbic’s hotels are a mix of on-trend design and quirky fun – all in a miniature space, or ‘Cubi’. The beds are super king size, though.

The cheapest rooms are windowless, but even they have flat-screen TV’s, rain showers, mood lighting, bedside lamps and more. Free WiFi, of course.

Public areas are Scandi modern with the occasional Heath Robinson-style piece of random furniture. Eating areas are laidback and vending machines provide food and essentials. In London you are in trendy Shoreditch, and there’s one in Amsterdam too (though a bit far from the action for our liking).

Z Hotels, London

Z hotels have several pod hotels dotted around London – Victoria, Piccadilly, Soho and coming soon to Shoreditch (because pod hotels pop up in all the right places) as well as Liverpool and Glasgow.

The cleverly compact rooms are modern, even elegant – with high quality fittings, lovely crisp bedding, power showers, flat-screen TV and more. The rooms ARE tiny, but they’re also stylish. No lobbies to linger in, no room service to order but the Z cafes offer a fresh breakfast buffet, lunch and light snack buffets and they’re licensed.

With spotless rooms from £69 in one of the world’s most expensive cities, who cares if the room is a little tight.

Pod 39 Hotel and Pod 51 Hotel, New York

New York’s Pod 39 and Pod 51 hotels – sounding very George Jetson – are on the basic end of the design spectrum, Ikea-smart, brightly cheap and cheerful but still with free WiFi, flat-screen TV, nifty little bathroom, workstation. There’s a Bunk Pod, and even a spacious Studio Pod (that sleeps four). Pod 39’s Mexico-bright Salvation Taco serves up tasty cocktails and tons of tacos. Both hotels have roof decks (with a bar, of course), which are a hip way to soak up a little NY colour and meet other podsters.

Schaller Studio, Bendigo

Tapping totally into the pod hotel vibe is Bendigo’s new Schaller hotel. Part of the Art Series Hotel group, it’s been heavily branded by artist Mark Schaller, but it is fresh, colourful and a little kooky, with everything you could need squished into its pod-sized rooms.

Comfy bed, original artwork, flat-screen TV, art books, pencils for drawing, even a cute little coffee-pod machine – it’s all there. The bathroom actually has a door (unlike some pod rooms). The balcony is slim-line (two stools just barely fit).

There’s space to lounge downstairs, witty sculptures, art books and old National Geographics to browse. A boil-your-own-egg breakfast, included in the tariff, is served in the café. Good coffee, too. For around $100 including breakfast, we thought it was arty, interesting and sensibly priced.

The Pod, Singapore

When does a pod hotel become a capsule hotel? A tough question. Perhaps when you can’t actually stand up in it? The ‘rooms’ or pods at Singapore’s good-looking The Pod are stacked along the corridors like train sleepers. You have a blind to pull down rather than a door to close, you stow your belongings in lockers beneath your bed, and share the bathrooms (but there are complimentary toiletries).

The hotel does offer plenty of extras – WiFi (naturally), breakfast, local calls, Nespresso coffee, laundry facilities, even business centre, are all free. And there’s 24-hour reception. This is definitely not for everyone, but for around $40 for a single or $100 for a double capsule, it’s a budget stay in a big city.

All images courtesy of the hotels